


Undermining Authority

by OptimisticLady



Series: in this cold heart, i can live or i can die [2]
Category: True Blood (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Eric Northman, Bisexual Pam Swynford De Beaufort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Godric/Eric is implied, Lesbian Tara Thornton, Pansexual Godric, Tall and Small
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:14:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27698143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OptimisticLady/pseuds/OptimisticLady
Summary: Now that Russell Edgington is gone, Alice Carter finally feels safe and can unpack her past trauma with Eric and Godric's help. Except not all is sunshine and roses, as Godric discovers there's a more sinister force at work - and they're hell bent on using Alice's power for a political gain. Sequel to Facing Change. Eric/OC.
Relationships: Alcide Herveaux/Original Female Character(s), Bill Compton/Sookie Stackhouse, Eric Northman/Original Female Character(s), Godric/Eric Northman/Original Female Character(s), Godric/Original Female Character(s), Nora Gainesborough/Eric Northman, Pam Swynford De Beaufort/Tara Thornton
Series: in this cold heart, i can live or i can die [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886461
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	1. August 2014

Alice was far too warm when she woke up, but she was thankful that the window had been left ajar in the night. It was the blanket that was the offending item making her feel warmer than she should be. How did she even acquire the blanket in the first place…? She squinted at it in confusion with tired eyes, and then took in the smell of the pillow.

It smelled of Eric.

A gentle smile came to her face. Of course, he wouldn’t have left without giving her some kind of cover. He wasn’t to know that it was going to be bloody hot outside come daylight, so instead of being annoyed at being hot, she was grateful for him trying to look out for her at the very least. She reached over to her phone and checked the time, sitting bolt upright upon realising it was gone ten in the morning.

“Oh no,” she muttered, rushing out of her bedroom and down the stairs to get some food, only to find that Miruna was quite casually preparing breakfast. Alice skidded to a halt in the archway between the living room and the kitchen, suddenly appreciating the smell and sound of sizzling bacon.

“I took the liberty of calling your students and their families, informing them that you were still recovering and would be for the next couple of days. They understood,” she explained, bringing the frying pan over to the kitchen table and sliding two rashers onto one plate, and two onto the other. There were pancakes on each plate too, as well as a pot of hot tea.

Alice went to slump down in a chair, eyeing up the food and being unable to even fully understand and appreciate what was going on.

“Thank you - for that, and this,” she said. “Really.”

Miruna waved it off as she placed the frying pan by the sink before joining Alice at the table. “It’s nothing, really. You helped get me out of a situation I was ready to just carry on putting up with. It’s the least I could do.”

“Well, the problem has been dealt with. We can both get on with life, I guess…” Alice murmured in response before tucking into the food. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was until that first bite of bacon hit her taste buds. She had to restrain herself from eating too quickly in the worry that she might make herself ill.

“I may need help getting a job somewhere,” Miruna then said after a few moments of silence while they got started on breakfast. “I don’t know if my degree is going to be useful here.”

“What’s it in?”

“Accounting. It’s from back in the eighties.”

“It’s still valid.” Alice shrugged, thinking over what she could possibly do in a town like Shreveport with that, especially considering her unique situation of the fact she hadn’t aged in a very long time. “What if you worked for Alcide?” she suggested, the idea popping into her mind.

Miruna faltered. “Do you think he’d take me?”

“Definitely. Besides, he’s a wolf as well. He won’t even blink about the fact you don’t age.”

The other woman seemed a lot more open to the idea when she considered that.

“Alright… I’ll see if I can sort something out… what about you?”

“What about me?” Alice wasn’t sure what Miruna was getting at.

“I mean… do you feel okay enough to go back to your job in a couple of days?”

Alice shrugged again, and settled back in her seat as she mulled it over. It was only a small job, and she was at a point now where she realised her money was slowly but surely running out. She’d used up a majority of her savings for the move as well as a few months rent, but a part time tutoring job wasn’t going to be helpful at all in the long run in terms of money…

“I also found this,” Miruna said, sliding a crumpled cheque over to Alice.

“Ah. That.” She eyed the sum that Eric had written out for her for all her help in Dallas. It was a hefty sum that would keep her rent going until spring next year, at the very least. “Do you think I should take it?”

Miruna shook her head and laughed. “You’re  _ so _ British - too British for your own good. If you earned it, then take it!”

“I barely earned it…” Alice mumbled. “I got thrown in a church cult’s basement and Eric  _ still _ had to rescue me…”

“Take it,” Miruna insisted. “He clearly wanted you to have it. Do you think you’ll see him tonight?”

“Probably not. I need a normal night’s sleep for once,” Alice admitted. “I just need a few days of being human. Even though I’m not really human…”

“For now you are,” she replied gently. “The rest comes later. We have time. Don’t worry about it too much.

“Easy for you to say… you don’t chronically worry,” Alice quipped. “Back to the point - I’ll go back to work tomorrow. I need something to do… and come September, I’ll see if I can find a substitute teacher job as well… that’ll be better. There’s bound to be someone off long term sick  _ or _ on maternity leave  _ somewhere _ in this city.”

“I admire your optimism, Alice.”

“I have to try, otherwise I’ll be in tears for the rest of my life.”

* * *

She kept her distance with Eric, only texting him occasionally and refraining from having him over at the house. Nor did she go to Fangtasia. If there was one thing on her mind that was truly bothering her right now was why didn’t Eric and Godric outright kill Russell? It didn’t sit well with her that there were just pieces of his body scattered across a construction site, rather than a pile of goo that should have been him.

Either way, Alice pushed it to the back of her mind as best as she could over the next few days while she tried to go back to a relatively mundane life. The only non-mundane aspect was having Alcide over a couple of times during that week: it turned out he was rather doting on Miruna, and Alice could hardly blame him, considering she was a lovely woman.

Miruna must have told him not to mention anything about Eric or Godric, because he kept strangely curt when talking to Alice, which she passed off with a roll of her eyes.

Godric…

She’d received a couple of texts from him, but she hadn’t found the heart to reply. Had Eric not told him that she was after a bit of normalcy? No matter… she wondered if the bond between herself and Godric had faded. She hoped it had. She couldn’t bear the thought of him knowing her inner turmoil; not while Eric already had to deal with it too.

Alice was admittedly desperate to see them, but she knew that focusing on her job for the time being was going to help her get her head on straight. That was until about a week or so after the incident with Russell, she told Miruna she actually - quite frankly - needed to go and see them. To stay with them for a little bit. Ask them questions. She wasn’t sure why there was the sudden urge to go and stay with the vampires, but for whatever reason behind it - be it logical or not - Miruna understood completely.

* * *

She managed to get an address from Godric the night before she departed her own home, and drove there the moment she could see the sun was setting.

Alice knocked on the door pretty much the moment the sun was completely gone, and it was quickly opened by Eric; she glanced up at him sheepishly, going pink in the cheeks when she noticed he was only in a pair of joggers and looking quite bedraggled.

He took one look at her and the fact she was carrying a duffel bag and wordlessly let her in. The minute he shut the door, Alice dropped the bag and he wrapped his arms around her, where she immediately relaxed.

“I just want to wake up next to you for a few days, and talk to you,” she murmured against his chest. “I don’t want to sleep on my own anymore. Sorry for showing up unannounced.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered, resting his cheek atop her hair. “Don’t apologise. Although I wish you’d given me a chance to get dressed.” Eric pulled back from Alice with a smirk on his face. “Then again, you like seeing me like this, don’t you?”

“Naturally,” she smiled up at him, if not in a tired manner. “I’m sorry for being so distant.”

“It’s okay,” he said quietly.

“I needed-”

“I know. I know you did, sweetheart.”

They retreated to Eric’s room for the rest of the evening, not really needing to say much else to each other. Alice didn’t see Godric or Pam until the next night on finally leaving Eric’s bedroom.

* * *

The week Alice stayed with Eric drifted by in a stilted sweetness.

She kept her mundane, human life going on the regular day to day only to return to Eric’s house when she was done; that was the only difference. As much as she wanted to ask the burning questions she had for both Eric and Godric, she found that she didn’t want to ruin the relatively calm nights by talking of things that had already past.

Eric knew - of course he did - Alice was agitated, and decided to bring it up himself because she wouldn’t.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her with a deep sigh, not looking up from his book. They were in his library: a modest sized one, but filled with enough books to keep the pair of them entertained if they weren’t in bed together. They sat across from each other in sleek arm chairs.

Alice lowered her book and eyed him with some regret. “I… nothing’s  _ wrong _ , I just… I have questions.”

“Okay. Ask them.”

“About Russell…”

“You don’t need to worry-”

“I know I don’t,” she cut across him swiftly. “Why not give him the True Death?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute or so, clearly trying to think over his answer - as if there was a right way to say it. “We wanted him to suffer. For what he did to you, and Miruna. And in some regards, what he wanted from Sookie… He didn’t deserve to die quickly.”

“So you left him to rot?”

“Precisely.”

“Is there any possible way for him to come back?”

“No. Unless somebody knows how to put a body back together. Nobody knows where he’s buried except for myself and Godric.” Eric raised an eyebrow at her. “You said you know you don’t need to worry, but I can feel it. The anxiety.”

Alice’s pale cheeks instantly flushed red, and he merely chuckled at that.

“I don’t want you to worry about me,” she eventually said, hiding her nose behind her book again.

“I always do,” Eric replied, watching her curiously.

“I know…” she said softly. “I can feel it.”

“Still?”

Alice nodded. “Not as much as before. Then again, we haven’t shared blood in some time.”

“Well… there’s an idea for later on, if you don’t mind getting messy,” he teased her. Of course, that only served to add to her current sheepishness, and he laughed again, turning a page in his book.

At that point, a very frazzle Godric entered the room. He was meant to be on duty at Fangtasia that night with Pam, but instead-

“The patrons are at another level of…  _ crazy _ tonight…” he told them with a shudder as he paced up and down the room. The pair of them were rather taken aback by how frantic he was.

“You’re only just realising this  _ now _ ?” Alice quipped. “Are they not like that all other nights?”

Godric eyed her with disdain. “I think since our dear friend Russell has been removed from the picture, they’re trying all sorts. Apparently I’m quite the… ah,  _ eye candy _ , for the throne when Eric isn’t there.” He turned to his son. “Speaking of…”

“I will return to Fangtasia when Alice is no longer staying here,” Eric said simply.

“I don’t need babysitting,” Alice said.

“ _ Not _ what I was saying, I was-”

“I’d be perfectly happy with Godric’s company tomorrow night if he’s tired of people throwing themselves at him. Or now.” She added at the end, with a shrug.

Eric glanced between Godric and Alice, before eventually putting his book away with a sigh and standing up. “Fine. I’ll go for the rest of the night and tomorrow. I’ll be back around dawn.”

With that, he left. Godric took Eric’s vacated seat.

“Something tells me you need to talk to me,” he then said, “and it’s to do with Eric?”

“I adore him too much for my own good, you know,” Alice replied, putting her book away. “And that’s fine - in fact, that’s… good. But we’re at a stalemate, and I’ve still not entirely processed what happened during my last relationship back in England.”

“He’s spoken to me of the same thing, actually,” Godric wasn’t surprised in the slightest as he crossed one leg over the other, a thoughtful look on his face. “Do you love him?”

“Platonically? Yes. Of course I do. Romantically? Give me another month or so and I’ll confirm that one.” Alice finally set down her book. “I’ve known him for two months and got swept up so quickly with him… it was unintentional. But it happened, and I’m oddly okay with it. He soothes me. I feel safe around him. I can take him at face value and know he won’t hurt me. I didn’t think I’d trust any man so quickly.”

“But it’s the face value that meant you could. Eric hides who he truly is for nobody, not even someone as fragile as you,” Godric agreed with her there. “And you’re not afraid?”

“Of course not. If anything, I think I’m more afraid of you.”

His lips twitched upwards for a moment. “You’re right to be,” he said. “Miruna informed me that to keep you safe I must become Death again - because that’s what I was when I first met Eric.”

“And you made him like you.”

“Not quite like me. His own form of it. Darkness. Ice. Everything cold. But not when it comes to you.” He shook himself out of that. “It was my idea to tear apart Russell in the way that we did. Eric was all too eager to follow along - just like all those years we travelled the world together. Know this Alice: you may be right to be scared of me, but I would never hurt you.”

“I believe you,” she said.

“However you must promise me something.”

She gestured for him to continue.

“Promise that you will forgive me if you ever see me become Death again.” His eyes were wide and begging as he said this, and that alone made Alice understand the gravitas behind what he was telling her; what he was  _ asking _ of her.

A little shaken, she nodded. “Yes. I’ll always forgive you, Godric.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Sorry for the long wait before this story started. I've been trying to plan/plot it out... so have a small opening chapter. The rest of these chapters detailing the year gap before Sookie returns will be more like snapshots of life. And I know True Blood as a show is set in 2008, but I wanted to reference certain IRL things, so just... set it a few years further ahead. I think I mentioned this on the previous story, but yeah. :)


	2. September 2014

September was a cooler month.

Alice’s emotions weren’t running as high as they once were, but deep down she was on edge. If faced with difficult questions she would stammer and draw into herself, and bury the thoughts and feelings about her past. Which was fine when it came to speaking to Eric, Godric and Miruna about it - but  _ god _ , it was useless when it came to actual therapy. She was told it was denial, that she didn’t want to admit it had actually happened, that she was brushing it off as a regular break up which is why she ended up with Eric so quickly.

On top of that, she was now a substitute teacher at a local school: that came with its own challenges considering it had been a good few months that she’d even stood up in front of a class of thirty students and actually taught them. Oh yes - she wasn’t the kind of substitute teacher that would let students get away with anything. No, if she was covering an English class she’d set them to work. Maths was a little more difficult for her to sort out if there wasn’t anything clear left behind by a teacher, but Geography and History weren’t so bad.

She was only required two, maybe three days a week, so it wasn’t the most taxing thing in the universe. If anything, it meant she was happy, doing the one thing she loved so much. It was obvious that she was in (what others would refer to as) an unusually chipper mood.

“You have a brightness in your eyes - it’s beautiful,” Godric told her one Friday night. They were standing on the balcony at the back of Eric’s house that overlooked the ridiculously large amount of land he owned.

Alice giggled and sipped on a glass of a wine. “Careful now, Eric might think you’re trying to seduce me.”

He smiled in response. “Eric has no need to worry. My sights are set elsewhere, unless yourself and Eric aren’t as selfish a pair of lovers as I thought…?”

She choked for a moment, and coughed a few times before her drink went down the right pipe and she could recover from that statement. “I’m  _ sorry? _ ”

“I jest,” Godric said simply. “I know he wouldn’t want to share you with anyone, even if he doesn’t say so himself. But… Miruna… is she…?”

“I… er… well, she has a bit of a thing for Alcide but currently she’s not - she’s not going there. Not while she works for him. Just ask her.”

“Alright. I will. Although I haven’t been with anyone for a long time… I may be out of touch,” Godric admitted. Alice looked over at him to see a sweet, sheepish expression on his boyish face. It would never cease to surprise her that she physically looked older than him by a few years.

Alice looped her arm through his and leaned her head to rest on his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Trust me.” She sighed in contentment when Godric rested his head atop of hers and they stared out across the starry night together, over the stillness of the trees and land in front of them.

Then Alice felt something rather unusual, like a tugging behind her naval that caused her to straighten up. It was followed up by amusement. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, and Godric frowned.

“Is everything okay?”

She took a shaky gulp of wine. “Eric’s messing around.”

“How so?”

“He’s taken a couple of liberties with the fact I can feel him. I think he just tried to see if he could call me to him.”

Godric rolled his eyes. “He’s too mischievous for his own good. What did that feel like?”

“Like something was pulling me from my belly button,” she explained, now necking back the rest of the wine. “But not enough for me to actually go to him.”

“Definitely not strong enough like the maker-progeny bond,” Godric mused. “I expect he’s testing it out, as a ‘just in case.’”

“Why would he-? Never mind, I don’t know if I want that answer…” Alice mumbled, opting to head inside and trudge down to Eric’s room, Godric hot on her heels. The flutter of amusement came back alongside a soothing caress that she felt right along the temples of her head. It took everything not to just drop down on the floor at the bedroom door and sleep.

She stumbled though, and Godric managed to grab onto her elbow to steady her.

“Easy…” he chuckled. “Although I expect that was Eric’s fault again? Perhaps I should take over from him at Fangtasia?”

“Please do,” Alice begged. “He seems restless.”

Godric bowed his head ever so slightly, and the moment he saw that Alice was sitting safely on Eric’s bed, sped off.

She set down the empty glass on the bedside table before ultimately deciding to lie down.

There was no intention of drifting off to sleep, but apparently that one glass of wine was enough to knock her out for a moment.

* * *

f _ “You know I love you, right?” Michael asked her. _

_ “Of course you do,” she replied, trying to hide the dry tone of her voice. “Of course I know that. I just wish… I wish things were like how they used to be.” _

_ He tried his best not to laugh at that, and Alice turned to gaze down at the counter top, her knuckles turning white as she death gripped it. Then he was behind her, his hands on her waist and kissing the nape of her neck. _

_ “They can be. I promise. I’ll stop.” _

_ She nodded, not sure if she believed him or not. She swivelled around in his hands and threw her arms around his shoulders, staring up at him with a sweet smile. How fake it was, Alice didn’t know. It satisfied him enough and she pressed her lips to his. _

* * *

“Hey,” Eric was gently shaking her awake. Alice rubbed her eyes and sat up, realising she was breathing heavily so tried to steady herself. She shifted to sitting on her knees as she faced Eric, who was reclining on the bed in the most godly, relaxed manner ever with his hands resting behind his head.

Alice had to shake herself out of her transfixed stupor, and he chuckled.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “Sometimes I… dream about him.”

“Your ex?” Eric raised an eyebrow, surprised that she was even mentioning it.

Alice hummed in confirmation. “Just now it was about the time he reminded me he still loved me and that things were going to go back how they were before.” Her lips twitched in amusement. “That was a lie, obviously.”

“Obviously…” Eric clucked his tongue. “You were more feisty when I met you. Some would say hot headed.”

“I had a barrier up.”

“And what happened to it?”

“You broke it down,” she told him with a small smile, leading him to look confused. “That’s not a bad thing, by the way. I’ve told you before I appreciate how honest you always are. It meant I was willing to let you break it. Not to mention - a couple of traumatic situations and a really mean vampire King later… it’s hard to keep a barrier like that up.”

“So… who’s the real you?”

She should have expected that question, really, but it didn’t throw her as much as she expected it to. It was a valid question, after all, since Eric had mostly dealt with Alice whilst she was in manic states of anxiety.

“A mixture of the feisty and the anxious. Tiny bit more confident too,” she replied. “What about the real Eric Northman?” A tease of a question for sure. She knew without a doubt what the real him was like.

And of course, he fucking smirked before saying, “Well, for  _ you, _ and anyone else close to me: what you see is what you get. This Eric Northman is  _ real, _ real.”

“Thought you might say something like that,” Alice said, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. He then pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling his waist. She blushed, naturally, as she always did when he did something like that.

“Tell me, are you  _ feisty _ with your students, Miss Carter?”

She cringed. “I’d rather you didn’t call me ‘Miss Carter’ since I have actual fifteen year olds that call me that now. But I put the kids to work,” she added on proudly. Eric reached up and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.

“That’s my girl.”

He carefully gripped the back of her head and brought her down to kiss her. Softly, at first, but as ever he always grew more eager as she did. Alice clutched at his shirt, bit at his lip, and made it overall more ferocious; it had been a while since she took the lead. She then pulled back, keeping their noses touching.

“Oh, I’m _your_ _girl_ now?” she breathed.

“Weren’t you always mine?” Cocky bastard.

“Well, yes, I just - that’s a different way of saying it-”

“Hmm mm…” He was only paying half attention, going to place kisses along her jaw. “Your point? We’re basically monogamous anyway…”

“Am I your girlfriend, then?” she asked abruptly. Eric froze a moment before deciding to undo a couple of the top buttons of her dress before circling her nipple with his thumb lazily. She started squirming, and he chuckled.

“What do you think, sweetheart?” he asked her. Alice swallowed loudly. “Because at this point in time - I would assume so, don’t you?”

She nodded dumbly, and Eric moved his hand to trail up her thighs under her dress, slipping a couple of fingers past the fabric of her now wet underwear and into her. Alice let out a hitched breath, and a devilish look entered his eyes. Heated, but bored at the same time - as if this was almost too easy. She was about to let out a delighted whimper, but he pressed a finger to her lips.

“Shhh. Not until I say you can make a noise.”

* * *

“This might be early days, but I think therapy might be doing you some good,” Miruna told Alice one evening as they finished up dinner together. It was a Saturday, and they’d spend a good portion of the day wandering around museums in Shreveport, as Miruna had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

“Well… I certainly hope so since it’s pricier than what I’d get back in the UK…” she replied dryly. Miruna laughed and pulled out a packet of cigarettes, causing Alice to groan. “If you’re going to do that - let’s go outside…”

So they headed out to the back porch and sat on the steps. There was a light breeze to the air, but it was nice. It wasn’t like they were going to freeze.

“It’s still hard, though,” Alice admitted. “I’m not a fan of talking about  _ it. _ The therapist managed to get the vampire related stuff out of me the other day, so I’m taking that as a good sign.”

“Not to mention - being back at an actual teaching job has done wonders for your mood. I don’t mean this in a horrible way, but you were kinda mopey last month,” Miruna pointed out as she finally lit up a cigarette.

Alice snorted. “I’m aware of that.”

“But you’re getting there now, which is important. You seem a bit more like yourself - and I don’t even know what that’s meant to be. I think this is it.”

“You’d be right.”

At that point, Eric came descending from the sky and landed on the grass in front of them.

“Good evening, ladies,” he said with a sweeping bow. Miruna inhaled a little too much smoke at the sight and hacked up a right old cough. “I did knock, but then I heard your dulcet tones.”

Alice stood up with a furrowed brow. “It’s been a while since you made an unexpected house call.”

“Yeah… uh, we have a problem.”

“Brilliant. Just as Miruna was saying I was doing  _ so well… _ ”

“It’s not one that’ll set you back a month, it’s just irritating,” Eric carried on. “Last month things went a little too quiet in terms of politics for us Louisiana residing vamps, and now I know why.”

“Go on?” Even Miruna rose from her spot on the porch, curious.

“Bill Compton is now King. Sophie-Anne has mysteriously disappeared,” he said through a gritted, forced smile.

Alice clapped a hand over her mouth: not necessarily in shock, but because she felt as if she were about to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. That, and-

“You’re his bitch now,” Miruna blurted out. Amusement flashed through her eyes and Eric groaned.

“Somehow -  _ somehow _ \- I knew you’d find this funny,” he hissed at the other girl.

Alice lowered her hand. “Even I have to admit there’s something about this… you do realise he’s going to get you back for all the shit you gave him about Longshadow and Dallas, right?”

“He could, however he actually can’t do anything because of what happened with you and Russell,” Eric reminded her. “Currently, William and I are even. The problem is that I still have to do as he says. He has power now, and I don’t like that.”

Alice crossed her arms. She should have been more afraid of Bill than she actually was, considering how he’d tried to keep her tied up in a cubby hole under his stairs; however, she understood that was purely done out of desperation. Not to mention, Eric’s protection was worth a lot more than anything Bill could do to her now.

“I take it you have a plan to deal with the fact you don’t like him being King?” she asked.

“Good girl,” Eric winked at her.

“Have you run it by Godric?”

“No.”

“Pam?”

“Also no. My plan doesn’t need to involve them.”

“And the plan is?”

“Well, I was thinking of buying Sookie’s house. Her brother put it up for sale,” Eric said. “You’re weirdly calm about the fact she’s disappeared. Not even mentioned it. You saw something that night when you  _ purposely _ touched her. What did you see?”

She scowled, whilst Miruna watched the pair of them intently, utterly invested in their conversation.

“Time,” Alice replied simply. “I saw time pass. She’s coming back.”

“When?”

“Not soon.”

“Fine,” Eric scratched the back of his head. “I’m buying her house, and I’m using it as a hideout.”

“You’re seriously gonna spy on Bill Compton?” Miruna piped up.

Eric rolled his eyes. “I’d be a fool not to. And the main reason I’ve not told Godric is because he wouldn’t approve. Pam would just probably blab about it by accident if I told her.”

“He asked me on a date, you know,” she said, and Alice smirked. Eric didn’t even flinch.

“Okay, cool, I’m expecting you to keep your mouth shut about this.” He turned to Alice. “You as well, sweetie, I know you two have little heart to hearts at least once a week.”

“I wasn’t going to say a word, but I do appreciate the vote in confidence,” Alice snapped back. He winced.

“Sorry…” he muttered. “I just - I can’t have this getting back to Bill.”

“And yet you’re buying a house that’s basically across the road from him?”

“I’m doing it anonymously…” He was getting frustrated - Alice could feel it. She internally willed him to keep a level head, and she saw his shoulders sag as he simmered down. “Besides… if Sookie  _ is _ coming back, I’m sure she’d appreciate a fixed up house too.”

“How much money do you have?”

He shrugged. “Who cares? The cheque that you  _ finally _ cashed in didn’t make a dent in my account. You could make a decent amount working for me.”

Alice rubbed her temples. “And here I was, thinking we’d established that teaching makes me happy…”

“Oh we all know it does,” Miruna said. “But at least you know you could make more if you worked for Eric.”

“To be honest at this rate I could just ask him for money and he’d give it to me because he’s my boyfriend.”

Silence. Miruna gaped as she glanced between the two of them.

“You had that conversation?”

Eric shrugged again. “Well, it was more like Ali clarifying what we were to each other and then I shoved my-”

“I don’t wanna know the end of that sentence,” Miruna said, pulling another cigarette out.

Alice immediately yanked that and the lighter from her. Miruna and Eric stared at her in shock.

“Look - if therapy happens to not work out, at least I can safely take up smoking as a vice.”

“Safely?” Eric countered.

“Somewhat.”

“Fuck me…”


	3. October 2014

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW content afer the second line break.

Eric never slept until it was sunrise. It was impossible for him to sleep at night time, but it meant he could peacefully rest his mind and wind down if he was curled up with Alice - as was the case tonight. She was fast asleep, her head resting on his chest, and Eric could feel that she was calm. He knew that was something she wanted, and he wanted that for her too.

Selfishly, he wanted it for him as well. Her being at peace. Their blood connection was so strong that whenever she was deeply anxious it felt like a physical ache in him. One that he couldn’t do anything about, because it wasn’t an ache he could stop - or an itch he could scratch, on remembering something that Alice had mentioned to him in passing, recently. Most of the time, sleep was the only way she’d actually be safe from anxiety.

Relatively. Sometimes she wasn’t.

Like with tonight, apparently.

It must have been three o’clock in the morning when Eric felt a change in her feelings, like her mind was becoming restless. At first he wasn’t worried, but when he felt the sweat forming on her skin and her restlessness turn to fear, Eric gently tried shaking her awake. It took a couple of attempts before she woke up panting, not to mention she was a little jumpy and shyed out of his grip, back onto the other side of the bed.

He switched on the lamp to see Alice wiping away tears as she sat up in bed. Her hands were trembling, and she was desperately trying to control that so it didn’t go beyond the smaller tremors she was experiencing at that moment. He could feel the fear ebbing, slowly but surely, and he remained quiet so as not to startle her further and ruin whatever progress she was making.

It was only when her breathing evened out that Eric shuffled closer to her again.

“Sorry,” Alice murmured, leaning into him once he had an arm around her. “Nightmare.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really… it was just about Michael. It’s fine. It’s fine. I - I have therapy in two days. I don’t want to bother you with it.”

Eric resisted rolling his eyes. “It’s not a bother if you wanna talk about it to me. I can’t offer you advice but I can listen.”

“You’re very good at the listening bit,” Alice said a little more brightly. “It was just… a nightmare of a memory. Look before you get too worried - it was pretty much all verbal, okay? Just very, very arguments between me and him.”

“Pretty much…?” Eric wasn’t exactly happy with that answer, and Alice sighed. He changed his tune. “Okay, okay… I’ll drop it if you just wanna go back to sleep.”

She nodded and they both lay down again, assuming the position they had been in before. Eric switched off the lamp and stroked Alice’s hair until it lulled her back to sleep, and he could feel a peaceful thrum wash over her once more. He sighed as it dawned on him how much harder this was now that they weren’t in danger.

It had been three months since things had died down - since Russell. Eric wondered if the reason it had been so much easier to be around Alice was because of the imminent danger, the imminent need to protect her. They had been presented with problems that needed fast solutions, and that was something he could do. Watching her actually heal from all of that was… new to him. Not something that came easily to him at all.

He expected Alice felt the same. She must have done, considering her answer to him just now. They’d gotten so wrapped up in each other so quickly there hadn’t been time for her to process whatever the fuck it was that had happened to her back in England. The reason why she ran as far away as possible.

If there was one thing that Eric was certain about: if he ever managed to get his hands on Michael, it was game over for him.

From what he had come to understand from the vague pieces of information that Alice had shared with him, was that it had been more of a mental torture. Manipulation. Eric had a feeling she was gaslit to fuck over the course of a year, and he understood why she took his blunt nature so well. You can’t pretend to be that much of an asshole, and at least he was self aware on that part.

Eric held Alice a bit tighter to him. He was glad to have been asked to keep an eye on her, before he even knew her. He could see a strength in her that she wasn’t even aware of, and one day she’d be able to unlock it. One day she would get through all of this, and would come out much better for it. As difficult as things were, Eric wasn’t going to abandon her - he could  _ never _ leave her.

To think he once thought that may have been the best course of action. How idiotic of him.

She stirred, and Eric froze for a moment so he could properly tune into her. She was fine. Just moving about in her sleep. She was fine.

He relaxed again after that, and drifted off to sleep earlier than usual.

* * *

A few days later, things weren’t so great.

Alice was meant to meet Eric that evening so they could spend Friday night and the weekend together, but she didn’t show up at the house. Neither Godric nor Pam had seen her at Fangtasia either. Miruna said Alice hadn’t come back home after therapy, and that made Eric worried.

He couldn’t feel her properly either: she was trying to block him off, but  _ why? _ What had happened? Had things been that bad that day? He felt out for her, trying to push some reassurance to her so that she would open back up to him. It took a few minutes, but a trickle of anxiety filtered through to him and he knew where she was.

Eric set off from the balcony at the back of his house, soaring high up into the night sky and following the thin trail that Alice had left him until he found her completely on the other side of Shreveport to where he’d expected her. She was at one of the more remote areas of Cross Lake, sitting on the bonnet of her car and staring out across the water.

From where he had landed to her right hand side, he could see her shuddering shoulders. She was crying. A lot. He wandered over and joined her on the bonnet, where Alice hastily tried to pull herself together.

“How long have you been here?” Eric asked, taking hold of her hand.

“Couple of hours,” she whispered.

“What happened?”

“I had a feeling it was coming, but anxiety has escalated into panic disorder. Stemmed from what happened with Russell.”

“Oh,” he said lamely. “How - how are they different?”

“Something about living in a constant cycle of fear.”

Somehow that wasn’t a surprise to him, but he still wanted to reassure her all the same. “You know I’ve got you, right? Always?”

Alice nodded, and rested her head on his shoulder. Eric let go of her hand to put his arm around her properly, and she shuffled closer to him. She was still shaky, but beginning to calm herself now that he was there.

“I didn’t think I’d spiral so badly after the session today… but that was bound to happen eventually.”

“Did you… speak about  _ him _ ?” Eric then asked carefully.

“Yeah… we always do. That didn’t help with the spiralling thing.”

He was silent for a moment before speaking again, trying to find the right thing to say and not upset her further. “I’m not gonna pretend to understand what you’re going through, because human emotion still baffles me still. You don’t have to talk about it with me if you don’t want to.”

“I will tell you-”

“But I’m saying you don’t have to,” he insisted. He had to refrain some chuckling at her stubbornness. It always got the better of her at the best of times. 

“Thanks,” she replied with a sniff. Eric glanced down at her to see her tears had reigned themselves in, and his lips twitched upwards in half smile.

He then stared back out across the lake: houses lined the perimeter of it in places, meaning the light bounced and shimmered off of it. The sky was clear and he could see the stars reflected in the still water.

“Why here?”

“It’s quieter than the city. I just needed greenery, I guess…”

“Hmm. It’s nice. I don’t think I’ve been this far across Shreveport in a long time.” An idea struck him in that moment. A mad, crazy, but wonderful idea. “We should go to Sweden.”

Alice sat straight and looked at him, bemused. “I’m - I’m sorry?”

“I own some land on an island there. But there’s also Stockholm as well… you get time off working at the school, right?”

Alice was so taken aback and flustered that Eric  _ finally _ let himself chuckle.

“I mean… there’s a break coming around Halloween… and then there’s the Christmas holidays… I get two weeks off then.”

“We can go over Christmas if you’d like. Actually have a breather.”

She considered it for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Okay. That does sound good. Let’s do it.”

He tried not to let the satisfaction show on his face, but a nudge from Alice told him that she could definitely feel it. Then he felt strange. She’d opened her feelings back up to him, and there was an odd rush of warmth coming towards him. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but it was… nice. Comforting. Alice appeared sheepish as he eyed her oddly, trying to figure out what it was.

Eric was annoyed he couldn’t match it, but then he remembered the last time he’d felt that come Alice. The night he’d disposed of Russell. Love. Was that it? He didn’t know how to show that back to her, and was left wide eyed like a deer in headlights as he stared at her.

Even weirder, she was okay with it. She was okay with the fact he hadn’t done it back, and that he was wrestling with the idea of it.

“What - what do you wanna do for the weekend?” he managed to get out.

“Anything,” she replied quietly. “As long as it’s with you.”

* * *

Eric was never usually a patient man, but he had most certainly learnt it when it came to Alice. He was glad for it, really. It meant he could tone down his own internal frustrations when it came to dealing with the most stupid vampire population in his Area. It didn’t mean he wasn’t still formidable, it only meant he would spend a few minutes longer listening to some pathetic excuse for when things went wrong.

Particularly because the vampire community in the south were still trying to heal from the damage Russell had caused. Whatever little tolerance people had for vampires had been ripped away and it was causing a few issues for Fangtasia, but nothing that he, Godric, and Pam couldn’t solve. However it did mean that he was prone to being on edge on some nights when getting home to Alice in his bed, and that was when he learned the extent of  _ her _ patience for him.

That was only slightly fucked, because he knew for a  _ fact _ that that came from having to put up with her ex-boyfriend.

One night he immediately launched into a rant, pacing up and down his bedroom while Alice merely watched him curiously, and clearly calculating the best thing she could possibly say to him in this situation.

When he stopped pacing with a furious look on his face, Alice got out of bed and approached him, electing to cup his face in her hands. He closed his eyes at her touch.

“Do you feel better for that?” she asked him, and he nodded as he simmered down. Alice gently ran her thumb over his skin. “Is there anything you can sort out to help?”

“I dunno.”

“Nan Flanagan?”

“She’s busy up Bill’s ass.” Eric opened his eyes again. “I’ll figure something out. We all will. Something more permanent than just kicking people out…”

Alice’s lips drew into a thin line as she thought over the problem. “Well… people learned to be tolerant of vampires once before. Who’s to say they can’t do it again?” she told him quietly. “It’s frustrating, but it’ll even out eventually, I’m sure of it.”

He huffed, a smile coming to his face. “You’re wise beyond your years sometimes, you know that right?” Eric said, going to tuck her hair behind her ears. From there he gripped her hair and leaned down to kiss her deeply and pulled her as close as possible.

She broke away from him for a moment. “I am a teacher, I have to be.”

He laughed, and pressed his lips to hers again. It was what he needed after a terrible night at Fangtasia: her softness, a taste of her that was sweeter than sunshine and more dreamy than moonlight. Eric was always delicate with her until the very moment Alice made it clear that there was no need for it. He always waited for her to indicate what  _ she _ wanted - he was a gentleman, after all. To an extent.

The moment Alice’s hands trailed down to the hem of his top and started to tug it off, Eric let her remove it before he promptly went to push her up against the wall. His vampiric speed came in handy at times like these. As did his strength. He lifted her up so that her legs were around his waist, and between her locking her legs there and him pressing her against the wall, there was no way she’d slip down any time soon.

He did have a hand under her thigh to help keep her in place though, and she had her arms looped around his shoulders as he furiously kissed her, nipping at her bottom lip and trying to edge his tongue into her mouth. Alice happily obliged.

Eric started to make his way down her body, opening the front buttons of her dress and forever being thankful that when she wore a dress with thin straps she never opted to wear a bra. It made his job much easier as he took a nipple in his mouth and started to roll his tongue over it. She moaned in delight, and he was pleased to find her nipples harden at the contact. Sometimes it was too easy for him, and he liked the fact that she was attracted to him that much.

Hands tugging at his hair had him moving back up towards Alice’s mouth, but not before he stopped at her neck. His fangs clicked down and he bit her. She arched up into him as he did so, and hungrily he drank the ambrosia that was her blood, a trail of red leaking down between her cleavage. Not that Alice minded, apparently. He didn’t take too much from her, but took enough to give him his fill for the time being.

While Eric resumed kissing her again, his free hand found itself drifting up her skirt. He rubbed two fingers against the wet patch on her underwear before he decidedly ripped it off. He slid his two fingers into her and started to stroke. Oh, the noises she made when he did that. Normally Eric would tell her to keep quiet because it only made her orgasms sound more wonderful and he could tease her endlessly, but right now he didn’t care for that. He just wanted to hear her appreciate what he was doing to her.

So she was whimpering into his mouth at this point. Eventually when he knew he was getting to a point that Alice was turned on enough, he removed his hand from between her legs and undid the zip of his jeans to release himself. He carefully slid inside of her and started to fuck her against the wall. Hard. She was at that point where he could feel that was what she wanted.

The sex was infinitely better now that they could feel each other deeply. They tuned into each other somewhat unintentionally, but it helped a lot. Alice was becoming a sweaty, frazzled mess and Eric clearly got a little too smug about that because she bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. Not that he minded, of course, particularly when she started to drink the blood that was now dribbling down his chin. He thrust into her particularly roughly at that point and it made her cry out quite loudly, and he smirked as he pulled away from her lips.

“Enjoying yourself, are we?” he then purred into her ear.

“Maybe,” she replied breathlessly. Eric raised an eyebrow. He knew she was getting close to finishing, and so was he.

“Maybe? Hmm, perhaps I’m not doing a good enough job…”

A little awkwardly, he brought a hand between her legs again so he could carefully help her along by rubbing the pab of his thumb against her clit. And it most certainly worked.

Within a few minutes she was over the edge, her nails digging into the backs of his shoulders as she tried to hold him as close to her as possible. Eric went back to her neck to take a little more blood, and soon enough he was spent too.

In the silence that followed, Alice rested her forehead against Eric’s shoulder as he slipped out of her, and she was breathing heavily. But she was content, and that was all that mattered to him. He held onto her waist more firmly with both hands and carried her over to the bed to lay her down. She unlocked her legs from around him, but he still remained between them, a hand on the duvet next to her so he could support himself above her.

She was pink faced and her hair was frizzier than normal, and that’s when Eric considered it to be a job well done. Alice’s green eyes had a little more life to them again, which was good considering the past couple of weeks she’d had.

Eric leaned down to run his tongue along the trail of blood that ran down her neck and chest to clean her up, and he pricked his own finger to heal the bite marks too. He collapsed down onto the bed next to her after that, and she curled up against his side, the pair of them happy enough to lie there in silence for a little bit.

“I needed that,” Eric commenced dryly after a while.

Alice rolled her eyes. “No,  _ really? _ ” she giggled, though. “I can’t complain. That was… well… I think you know.”

“Do I?”

She lightly whacked him on the chest and he laughed. “I hope you sleep well tonight. And if you dream of me, dream of nice things.”

* * *

“I haven’t been to a Halloween party since I was twenty one,” Alice remarked to Miruna as they got ready in the bathroom. The other woman quirked an eyebrow at her.

“And how long ago was that?”

“Three years ago…” Alice mumbled in response, as she painted some whiskers onto her face. “I stopped having a tolerance for parties.”

“Fair enough,” Miruna shrugged, also applying cat whiskers onto her face. Neither of them had particularly wanted to dress up, but figured it was best to make some sort of effort rather than none at all. Buying a pair of cat ears each and doing the most basic face paint was easy enough, and they could wear whatever they wanted.

Alice had opted for a short black dress in the same sort of style she usually wore, complete with tights, boots, and a jacket in the same colour. Miruna had gone for the same colour choice too except with jeans and shirt instead. Plain and simple.

“I take it we’re not drinking beforehand?” Miruna asked, now done with her makeup.

“You can. I can’t. I’m driving us there.”

“Why are we even going?”

“Eric asked me  _ nicely _ ,” Alice replied, adjusting the cat ear headband. Happy, the pair of them headed out of the bathroom and downstairs. “Handling Fangtasia has been a bit of a struggle since Russell ripped out a human heart on live television…”

“I see… and a Halloween party was the best call of action?”

“Pam’s idea.”

“Ah.”

“She’s also more inclined to dish out free alcohol if she likes you enough,” Alice said when picking up her small, going out bag and checking for her purse and keys in there. Satisfied, the pair of them left the house, with Alice locking the front door.

“Now that I can get behind…”

Alice laughed as they got in the car and set off for the nightclub. Admittedly she was uncertain about how the night was going to turn out, but it could be fun. Besides, Eric would simply remove anybody who decided to cause trouble.

The pair of them nattered about nothing on the drive, and were both surprised to see that more people were flocking to Fangtasia that normal in all sorts of dress up. Some went for generic horror characters, others went for subtle, and some went on the side of sexy.

Pam wasn’t on the door this evening, but they weren’t ID’d anyway. The pair of them went straight in. There had barely been any additional decor added to the bar to mark the occasion - it didn’t really need it anyway, considering  _ what _ Fangtasia looked like on a daily basis anyway. Alice wouldn’t have been surprised if it were Godric who had suggested adorning the walls with fake cobwebs and spiders to give a more spooky element to the already tacky place.

Glancing around the club properly through all the throngs of people, Alice spotted Eric on the throne for the time being, with Godric next to him. The pair were in deep conversation but the blonde vampire looked up when he sensed her presence. He crooked a finger at her, so Alice abandoned Miruna at the bar and wandered over. She and Eric had to keep up a semblance of pretence in public after all.

“Well, well, well…” Eric gave her the once over as he reclined in his chair. She blushed while Godric awkwardly cleared his throat. “Low effort. I didn’t know you owned black?”

“It’s not really my colour,” she replied, folding her arms. 

“I think you look lovely,” Godric said with a warm smile. “Is Miruna here?”

“Over at the bar.”

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said politely before heading off to find her, leaving Eric and Alice alone under the watchful eye of many a Fangtasia patron.

“What’s the plan?” Alice asked him.

“Take a seat,” Eric said simply. 

As Alice went to sit down in the chair that Godric had vacated, Eric stopped her.

“Not there,” he said, then patted his thigh. “Here.”

Alice’s cheeks turned furiously red and she gulped. He had a devilish grin on his face as he waited patiently for her to eventually settle down on his lap. She threw an arm around his shoulder as he snaked one around her waist, and he pressed a kiss to her jawline.

“So… why?” she asked tentatively.

Eric shrugged. “Thought it might be fun, my little Ali-cat.”

His other hand was resting casually on her thigh, a finger running lazy circles on the outside of it.

“Certainly makes a statement,” she remarked, noting how a few of the patrons were beginning to whisper as they noticed Alice on Eric’s lap.

“Maybe I want you close tonight,” he murmured in her ear. It sent a shiver down her spine, and she could feel herself getting turned on. “Besides, I was thinking we could fuck in my office later. I’m  _ shocked _ we haven’t tried that yet.”

“I - okay - um - I think I need a drink,” she managed to get out.

“Easy enough. Godric is coming back over with one.”

She craned her neck to see that Eric was right. Miruna was tailing after Godric, but the moment she noticed the position Eric and Alice were in, ung back entirely. Godric paid no attention, and acted like this was a perfectly normal thing for Eric to be doing. Alice didn’t know if that was worse than him being slightly surprised by it.

“I’m assuming you’ll be staying at ours tonight?” Godric asked her, handing over a gin and tonic. “That was made by Pam.”

Alice looked down at the drink. “Yeah… I guess Eric will be driving us home. Maybe. At least it’s a Friday is all I’m saying.” With that, she necked back about half of her drink in one go.

“Hmm. Well. Enjoy your night. And I hope everyone here enjoys the display,” Godric said with a smirk before going back to Miruna and disappearing into the crowd.

“Did you really want me close tonight or are you effectively marking me as yours so nobody goes for me?”

“Bit of both,” he said. “Besides… you’re hot. I can’t help myself.”

“Funny. I was thinking the same about you,” she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. It was a chaste kiss, but enough to only embarrass herself a tiny bit.

“ _ Oooh _ ,” Eric smirked. “Half a gin and she gets bold in public.”

“Says the vampire who pulled me onto his lap and is trying to turn me on.”

“Trying?” Eric cocked his head to the side. “I think I’ve succeeded. And I’ll do more than just that later. As long as you’re a good girl.”

Alice was rendered speechless after that, and wondered if this was possibly the best Halloween night she was in for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I couldn't resist a good bit of Erice content. I hope you're enjoying these snapshot chapters!


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